"Strong shoulders

Sharp blades

Zipper trailing down the spine to the

Base

Of the column

Face covered by a darkened veil

Strands of wasted ivory

Pinstripe sheets dingy with time;

A photographer's dream.

Underneath, tattooed flesh

Pain inked into every square inch of the

Flawless

Moon-white skin stretching over once broken

Bones and tender muscles

Porcelain hands that have

Reached

An understanding with the body;

Ingrid's creation.

Perhaps there is a

White Oleander

Tucked behind your ear, Astrid."

8/29/2005